A resolution to the battle between Football Federation Australia and the players union over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement "looks further away than ever" after the 10 A-League clubs rejected the demand for an extra A$3M ($2.1M) in salary payments for players, declaring it "economic vandalism," according to Ray Gatt of THE AUSTRALIAN. In a "clear call of defiance, the clubs reaffirmed their full support" on Wednesday for FFA in the "long running fight against Professional Footballers Australia." The clubs claim the PFA made fresh demands in talks Tuesday, seeking an "immediate rise" of A$1M ($700,000) in payments across 10 clubs and an extra A$2M ($1.4M) for the '16-17 season. They say part of the new CBA "offers increases and a guaranteed 30% share of any uplift in future TV revenues to A-League players." Adelaide United Chair Greg Griffin, a member of the joint FFA-A-League negotiating team, hit out at the PFA. He said in a statement, "This is economic vandalism. The PFA has shown its reckless regard for the clubs who collectively employ over 200 professional players" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/9). In Melbourne, Michael Lynch reported the PFA is adamant that its claim to 30% of revenues generated by the sport -- about A$150M ($105M) under the existing broadcast rights agreement -- "is not extravagant by global standards." Union officials insist there is "nothing outrageous about their demand that the athletes grab a major share of the money the sport generates." They also say that "involving them more deeply in the game's promotion and development would be a win-win for all sides." According to PFA figures in the big five leagues in Europe -- England, Italy, Germany, France and Spain -- the share for the players is 59% wages to revenue, while in Japan's J.League the figure is put at 48%. FFA and those "in charge of the game's purse strings" counter that Australian football "simply cannot afford to be so generous, especially under the current straitened fiscal circumstances." Its TV rights deal is up for renegotiation and while FFA CEO David Gallop and his team are "confident that they will get a much higher total next time round, the financial position of many of the clubs is still rocky" (THE AGE, 9/8).
KICKOFF IN JEOPARDY?: In Melbourne, Matt Windley reported Gallop "cannot guarantee strike action won't affect" next month's A-League kickoff. While he said he does not expect the competition's Oct. 8 launch date to be disrupted, he said "you're never 100 per cent confident" on such matters. Gallop: "We've had nearly seven months of talks and we thought that things were coming close to a resolution. So to get a fresh set of demands (from the PFA) was a surprise and certainly a setback. But everyone needs to focus on affordability and focus on not disrupting things any further" (HERALD SUN, 9/9).
